Fresh Air
by Chocolatechan147
Summary: Not every story has a happy ending. Monsters have made it to the surface, and Chara has been brought back to life. But that's not the end. With the mix of school, family struggles, and discrimination against monsters, everyone is suffering one way or another. Is it as easily fixed as other problems they've encountered..?


Sunlight burned through the curtains as birds chirped happily. It was a peaceful Monday morning, which was a rare occasion for anyone. Frisk's sheets felt soft and warm, cradling them as a mother would cradle their child. It was a shame they'd have to get out from the soft comfort of their bed, but they were flexible.

It had been about 6 months since Frisk had brought monsters to the surface. About three months after they were above ground, Alphys had helped Frisk create a soul to bring Chara back. It was a painful and complicated process. In fact, Alphys constantly reminded Frisk what a dangerous idea it was. The only way Chara would be able to have a stable soul would be if at least half of their soul was natural rather than handmade. Frisk, being the one who proposed the idea, was eager to volunteer. They had really wanted Chara back. They really just wanted to make it up for what they did. Funny, really. Frisk and Chara were pretty much the only ones who knew the truth about the resets. Sans knew..some, but he didn't know the whole story. Frisk knew just from his reluctance to bring Chara back. He tried to cover it up with excuses about it messing up the timeline or killing Frisk, but Frisk knew it was because he didn't like Chara. It was clear. He'd scowl every time they were mentioned and he'd spit their name like it was poison. It angered Frisk more than anything in the world.

In order to get Chara back, Frisk had to fuse half their soul with half of an artificial soul Alphys created. The other half was fused with what was left of Frisk's soul so they would remain alive. They had made the journey all the way down to the underground to retrieve Chara's corpse. Luckily, the magic that sealed monsters underground stopped the corpse from rotting. Since Chara has half of Frisk's soul, they often felt connections and even shared memories. This was new for Frisk, and a little hard to handle. For the first month of being alive again, Chara was worse than anyone had ever seen them. They were bitter and angry. As much as they tried not to show it, Frisk felt that they were extremely sad.

Frisk and Chara were enrolled in a nearby public school. Chara was less than thrilled. They didn't say why, but Frisk and the other knew the reason without even speaking to each other. Frisk, on the other hand, was very excited to be getting an education again. They were a bit nervous though, as it would be for any teenager who had been out of school for months.

Frisk stood up from bed and stretched their arms. They yawned, glancing to the small flower pot on their desk. Frisk smiled. The little flower was glaring at them, his tiny mouth tugged down into a scowl.

"Morning, Flowey," Frisk laughed.

Flowey huffed. "Morning, Frisk.."

Frisk laughed, walking over and ruffling his petals. They picked him up and turned him to face a wall. "I'm changing."

Flowey growled. "Do you really have to turn me around? 'S not like I'm gonna look…"

"With your history I can't really trust you," Frisk laughed.

Frisk was changed in about 10 minutes. Flowey had asked "Can I look now?" nearly every 30 seconds. Frisk picked him up and turned him around again.

"Don't people normally wear, like, nicer clothes to the first day of school?" The small flower tilted his head. "Are you just gonna wear that? How many of those sweaters do you own??"

Frisk chuckled. "Just two."

They waved at Flowey as they walked out and picked up their backpack. They walked out, leaving the flower alone. He sighed.

Chara was already downstairs when Frisk got there. They looked exhausted. Then again, there was rarely a time where they didn't. Frisk sat down next to Chara and gave a small wave. Chara nodded back, uninterested.

"Not ready for the first day, huh?" Frisk offered.

Chara simply shrugged. "Dunno...I haven't been to public school in a long time. It'll take awhile to get used to it.."

Frisk could tell that there was more to it, but they didn't push it. Even still, the small pang of dread both children felt in their shared soul worried Frisk. Chara's ruby red eyes were downcast, their brow furrowed in obvious worry. Oh, how Frisk wanted to prod. They wanted so badly to ask what was wrong, but Frisk knew Chara. They knew that Chara would simply insist that they were fine, just tired. Frisk knew so much better, but Chara wouldn't open up easily.

"Made you breakfast.." Chara mumbled, making a lazy gesture at the toast set in front of Frisk. Frisk smiled gratefully and started eating.

The next ten minutes were painfully awkward. Frisk tried to start a conversation, but Chara replied with disinterest and remained silent. After failing at least five times, Frisk just gave up and stopped talking. They checked the clock every few minutes until it was ready to leave. They twitched uncomfortably with each passing second. Frisk stood up quickly when the time came for them to leave.

"We gotta go," Frisk sputtered uncomfortably.

Chara nodded wordlessly. They stood, pulling their backpack over their shoulder. Frisk noticed how...stiff their movements were. They were clearly nervous. They wanted to know. They really wanted to know. Frisk knew better than that, though. It was too early in the morning to pry into Chara's emotions. They wouldn't open up, not now.

Chara looked down at the floor as they walked to the bus. Their fingers twitched softly against their leg. They were clearly nervous. Frisk couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey.." They asked softly. "What's up?"

Chara seemed surprised by the question, and their eyes quickly dart up to Frisk. "Oh...um..nothing, really.."

"Don't lie, Chara.." Frisk shook their head. "I know you're nervous. I can tell just from looking at you. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Chara insisted, walking faster so that they were ahead of Frisk. "I'm fine."

Frisk sighed. "Seriously,Chara. What is i-"

"I'm fine, alright??" Chara snapped. They gripped their backpack straps tightly for comfort.

Frisk knew that meant they should back off. They sighed and nodded slowly. As much as they wanted to know, they had to respect Chara's boundaries. If Chara didn't want to talk, they wouldn't push it.

The few minutes it took for the bus to arrive were incredibly awkward. Chara kept their gaze on the ground, scuffing their feet on the pavement. Frisk fidgeted with their hands and kept a safe distance from Chara. They both kept silent until the bus pulled up. A few other kids there pushed in front of them to get to the bus. They were the first stop the route took, so there wasn't a rush. Regardless, other people felt the need to push in front of everyone else to get into the bus first. Frisk followed on, and Chara walked close behind. Frisk quickly took an open seat at the front of the bus. They were still fidgeting with their hands. Chara sat next to them.

They both sat in silence for a few moments as the bus shut it's doors and went into motion.

"Sorry…." Frisk mumbled softly.

Chara shook their head. "It's okay.." Their voice was soft and...was their voice shaking..?

"I was just worried.." Frisk stared at their hands. They could tell Chara was even more nervous. They frowned. "Hey..um..I can tell you're nervous now...you'll be alright.."

Chara shook their head. "No, I-"

They're interrupted when something hit them in the back of the head. They gasped and their muscles tighten.

"Sorry!" They hear someone a few seats behind them yell.

Chara visibly shook now. It wasn't terribly noticeable, but it was there. Frisk frowned and placed a hand on Chara's. They could feel Chara's anxiety in the half of the soul they shared.

Chara looked down at their hands. "S...Sorry," They shook their head slowly. "I'll be fine..I..I just haven't been around humans in a while..especially not..especially not human teenagers."

Frisk sighed. "Don't worry about it." They squeezed Chara's hand gently.

Frisk felt bad for Chara. There was so much they didn't know about them..but they knew that their experience with humans wasn't exactly pleasant. They could tell how nervous they were just from how their hand was shaking. Frisk wanted to help. They really, really wanted to help. Chara always seemed so upset. They knew that the loud, overwhelming atmosphere of the school bus would only make it worse.

Chara unconsciously leaned closer into Frisk for comfort. Frisk smiled softly at them, letting them know it was okay. Not like there was much more they could do. If Chara didn't want to talk, Frisk couldn't force them.

The bus finally pulls up to the school. With every passing minute, Chara got more and more nervous. They may not have shown it, but Frisk felt it. Not to mention Chara's hand was shaking in theirs. Frisk gave their hand a reassuring squeeze every once in awhile, and Chara would return the gesture with a soft, nervous smile.

The other kids got off the bus quickly (and loudly). Frisk and Chara stated behind until their left. Frisk kept their hand in Chara's until th3y stood up and followed the rest of the teenagers off the bus. Frisk hadn't been to school in months-they had almost forgotten how chaotic high school students were. It didn't help that both Frisk and Chara were 14 years old-freshman. Older teens found it necessary to make life harder for younger students. Not like Frisk could blame them. Freshman were pretty awful. Both Frisk and Chara would like to believe that they were better than other people their age, but they probably weren't.

It had been even longer since Chara had been in a school. Their last experience in school wasn't good, either. Their anxiety towards walking into school made it obvious.

Chara refused to let Frisk hold their hand as they walked into school. They insisted that they were fine, and could get in by themself. Frisk knew that was a lie, but they decided to leave them alone. You had to be patient with Chara. They wouldn't immediately be vulnerable or open up. Frisk knew this better than anyone else.

Chara kept their head down and fidgeted with their hands. Their stomach turned. Occasionally someone would accidentally bump them, causing their anxiety to spike and their heart to skip a beat. They hated being so sensitive and easily put on edge. It's not like they could help it, though. The overwhelming amount of people and sound made them extremely anxious.

Frisk, being the overly observant person that they were, noticed this. They sought out a quiet hallway for them to sit alone in with Chara. Frisk went to such great lengths to make sure Chara was okay. They cared a lot for them. It was...a little scary. At least to Chara. The only person who had ever cared about them this much was Asriel…

While Chara was rapidly thinking, they ended up bumping directly into someone. Head-on. They had been so distracted that they sudden collision caused them to fall back. Frisk gasped, not having noticed, either.

The person Chara had run into seemed to tower over them. Granted, almost everyone did. The problem with Chara simply taking back their old body was that they were still the size they were when they died. They weren't even five feet tall. Since they were basically a reanimated corpse, they wouldn't grow anymore, either. This person was exceptionally tall, making Chara feel overpowered.

He merely sneered at them and began to walk off with a mumbled "Watch where you're going, freak."

Chara quickly pulled themself to their feet after he left. Their hand were shaking. That wouldn't really have hurt someone else, someone with more stability, but just that single comment set Chara on edge. The word "freak" had too much of a heavy emotional weight in their mind. There were too many people. Their ears were pounding.

Chara started to cry.

Frisk took their hands, quickly trying to walk to where less people would see them. After a bit of searching, Frisk found a relatively empty hallway. Chara was relieved. It would've been worse if people saw them cry. They wouldn't have been able to take that.

Chara wrapped their arms around Frisk and softly cried into their shoulder.


End file.
